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The Public Interest Declassification Board submitted 14 recommendations to President Barack Obama at the end of November. The suggestions cover everything from moving out of the three-tiered classification system to a two-tiered process to strengthening the National Archives and Records Administration's National Declassification Center to giving federal employees "safe harbor" protection if they adhere to a rigorous risk management process in how they perform their classification duties.

Federal News Radio polled current and former
federal cybersecurity experts for their opinions
on what were the most significant
cybersecurity accomplishments since 2006 to
secure federal networks and improve public-
private partnerships. The
accomplishments are in no
particular order.

White House senior director for cybersecurity
Andy Ozment said budget folks are getting a
better understanding of why cybersecurity is
important thanks to the administration's high-
priority governmentwide goals. NIST also is
helping push the cross-agency goals forward from
a technical perspective.

The Energy and Homeland Security departments are working with companies in the electricity sector to come up with a baseline set of cybersecurity standards. Michael Daniel, the White House cyber coordinator, said the framework is making a difference in how owners and operators secure their networks. But Rep. Mike Rogers (R-Mich.) said without liability protections expansion of these efforts isn't likely.

The administration has struggled to fulfill its promise to take enough concrete steps to make cybersecurity a national security priority. Experts say the White House fell short in several areas, most notably in getting comprehensive cyber legislation passed.

The Select Committee on Intelligence member
wrote
a letter to White House Cyber Coordinator
Michael
Daniel asking him to make sure any mandate
doesn't harm the networks used for interactive
computer services.

The administration is considering using an
executive order to promote and encourage
critical infrastructure providers to improve
their cybersecurity. The draft EO, which Federal
News Radio obtained details of, mirrors major
sections of the second version of the Lieberman-
Collins comprehensive cyber bill.